"If she were selfless, Mary would have set him free. He deserved to live a life far from here, maybe in Ireland or America. But Mary was selfish. And she would keep him here as long as she possibly could." An AU starting in S4 where Mary grieves Matthew differently, Tom is still the chauffeur, and their friendship forms another way.

'Tom considered her words, a strange expression on his face before he said, "It's a big thing but… if you're sure, I'll stand beside you." "I hope so," Mary said, voice trembling with trepidation. "Because that's not all."' Following a conversation with her dying grandmother, Mary must decide whether or not to reveal her true feelings to Tom before he marries another woman.

The night Lord Voldemort failed to kill Harry Potter, he left behind a daughter. Bethany Riddle grows up in an orphanage, ignorant of the wizarding world and the legacy left by her father. She defies all the expectations placed before her, but will she be doomed to repeat history? AU, eventual slowburn.